BFG 285s on a 2500HD Duramax?

mnsilverado · January 31, 2002

My girlfriend's dad thinks he wants to get 285s for his 2500HD, he has the duramax and allison tranny. My understanding is that the 285s only come in D rating and his truck is suppose to have an E rated tire. But since he will most likely never pull anything near the capacity(at most 5-6k pounds) of the truck I see no problem with the lower rated tire. What he wants to know is will they rub? He doesn't want to crank on the t-bars. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

Dave

Shaners · January 31, 2002

Without cranking the T-bars, there is a chance that they will rub. Even 265/75/16's look great!!! Maybe that is the way he should go. There is also a tire size that is about the same diameter as the the 285/75 but is narrower (265/85/16 ??? ). There may be less chance of a rub with it.

Also, the stock wheels aren't really wide enough to carry rubber as wide and tall as the 285/75/16. I know alot of people do it and they look great, but it isn't recommended by the tire manufacturers.

SteveSierra · February 1, 2002

On the stock rims, I wouldn't go any more than 265 75R16's. I didn't! Even this width isn't recommended for the 6.5 inch rims, but I had em put on anyway. The size I originally was going to go with(255 85R16, which is a 33 inch tire), didn't have many options for that size and the brand I was going to get Dunlop Radial Rover RV's, is soon about to discontinue the Radial Rover RV. They're replacing it with some kind of A/T tire which I didn't really care for.

The BFG All Terrain D range tire has the load capacity of 3000 lbs. I think the Firestone E range tire that was stock was rated at about 3100 lbs. There's not much difference. If he doesn't haul anything in the bed over 2000 lbs, he could even go with a C range tire and tow that weight around.

Why am I always so long winded? Sheeeesh! I gotta cut that out!

Steve

blacksierrac3 · February 1, 2002

mnsilverado

I just added 285's on my 2500 hd and this is my fourth vehicle with them. I have never had a problem with anything in regards to this size tire on any chevy truck, however, if he does not want to crank up the t-bars, this is not the size to go with. I have never HAD to (just wanted to because of teh look) crank up the t-bars on anything but this HD. I ran into a snag with the wheel well liner on the front drivers side being lower than that of other HD's and even lower than the other side. Must have been an installation flaw.

I love the look, the ride, and everything about the 285's (BFG AT's).

I know it is only a 6.5 inch rim and it is proabably not "recommended" but it looks and functions great.

Just an opinion and all of these other recommendations are great as well, that is why I like these forums so much. You get several perspectives on things.

CMNTMXR81 · February 1, 2002

I did the 285's on my stock PYO wheels. The only problem is that they'll "crown" a little. Otherwise BFG A/T's have a nice bead seal that fits against the rim, so I doubt they'll blow out.

Yes, the 285 BFG's are a "D" rating compared to the stock Firestone's "E" rating, but that's solely due to the fact that the Firestone is a 10 ply tire vs. the BFG being an 8 ply. Otherwise, the 285 BFG's have a higher load rating of 3,305lbs at 65psi vs. the stock Firestone's 3,042lbs @ 80psi. So in reality, you aren't losing any towing capacity with the BFG's.